Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 258

CONVERSATIONS TED NUGENT ROCK'S MADMAN KEEPS HIS SANITY ON THE FARM I2 iSU fly some great stuff going on. They'll never get better than Jimi Hendrix. During the '60s, the music was more riveting; nowadays, it's more dance-oriented. DETROIT: Do you have sitters for your kids? NUGENT: No. I do all the parental maneuvers.

I get 'em up for school every day. I cook breakfast, I go to school activities and I make dinner at night. It sounds hokey to say Ted Nugent packs a high-protein lunch, but I do. I also, answer all of their questions about life, and I'm cognizant of the importance of their growing years'. I'm just Toby and Sasha's dad.

When I go to their school I just slide my hair back in a ponytail and wear a hunting hat. DETROIT: How does your conservative lifestyle jibe with your Madman personality onstage? NUGENT: There's a time and a place for everything. I'm open-minded with my kids, but I think the basic values should be adhered to. I monitor what kind of movies they watch, but I'm a loving parent. When I'm at home I'm just another white man taking care of business.

When I'm on stage anything goes. DETROIT: Aren't you sort of old to be doing this wild rocker stuff? NUGENT: Ask Mick Jagger that question. Better yet, come and see me in concert and ask that question when you leave. Right now, I'm doing a fine job of rockin rollin and I weigh the same as I did when I was 18. I ock'n' roller Ted I Nugent, 38, re- cently caused a I st simulat-LJ V-A ing a sex act onstage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

But offstage, the Motor City Madman is a devoted single father to Toby, 9, and Sasha, 12. He doesn't drink and is vehemently opposed to drugs. He considers his life routine, but never boring: "How can you get bored raising two kids?" DETROIT: You've criticized some pop stars for having little talent, for attracting fol-lowings mainly through videos and clothes. What would you say if someone aimed the same zinger at you? NUGENT: I don't know how anyone could label my career a trend. I've been successful during the '60s, 70s and '80s, so I'd say that's a 30-year trend if it's a trend.

I play good rock 'n' roll. I always have and I always will. DETROIT: What do you think of performers with strange reputations Boy George, Prince, Michael Jackson? NUGENT: I think Michael Jackson is a great talent with the touch for great music, but he has peculiarities that I can't understand. I met him a few times and he's a strange person. The same thing is true with Boy George.

Prince seems like a dedicated musician, though. Inlerrieie by Carol Teegardin. DETROIT: How big is your farm? What do you grow on it? NUGENT: We have 1,100 acres in Jackson County. The kids and I plant different types of vegetation for game, and we also plant pine trees. DETROIT: You trap and hunt? NUGENT: I do, and we only eat what I trap and kill myself.

Hey, this is not a hobby; this is a lifestyle. DETROIT: Why don't you cut your hair? Is it some kind of political statement? NUGENT: Please. You don't make political statements with hair, you make 'em with guns. I just like my hair long. DETROIT: Where did you grow up? NUGENT: I was born in Red-ford Township near the Rouge River.

By the time I was six, I couldn't get enough hunting and fishing in. I've been in Jackson County since 71. DETROIT: Why didn't you move out to LA? NUGENT: Because I like the simple life. I don't work between September and January every year. That's hunting, fishing and trapping season.

Basically, I didn't think there'd be much for me to eat in Hollywood. DETROIT: You were recently on "Miami Vice." What was that like, and do you think you'll get into acting now? DETROIT: Touring most of the summer, which you do every year, is pretty demanding. Do you get tired of it? NUGENT: It's creatively stimulating to me every night, and socially it's unbelievable. Every night it's my setting. It's like having a private dinner party every night, cooking everyone's favorite dish.

I get the gratification of preparation and they (the audience) get the gratification of consumption. DETROIT: After your divorce from Sandra Jecowski seven years ago (she has since died), you were seeing one woman steadily, but now you're on your own again NUGENT: During my divorce, I met a girl by the name of Pele Massa. She's half-northern Italian and half-Hawaiian. We've separated because after seven years we needed a little space between us, but we still see each other. We're discussing marriage.

DETROIT: What's the state of rock 'n' roll in 1986? Give it a grade, A to F. NUGENT: It's too diverse of an entity to grade singularly. Rock 'n' roll in general is rating a good solid right now. We've got Bryan Adams, Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Van Halen. They're just great.

There's walk, jog or take a swim. I just keep on exercising. Sometimes I'll walk for three hours." ended up smiling and joking about it. There's always something good in the worst situation, even if it's only to build character." Ronna Rom-ney, GOP national com-mitteewom-an: "I've found that if you about the world and my problems for a few hours. Another thing I do is work harder.

Oh, there have been times when I've been really depressed, but I pressed on and worked my way out of it." WHAT DO YOU DO ft TO BRING YOURSELF OUT OF A BLUE FUNK? Chuck Forbes, Detroit developer: "For me, a good movie is a release. I'll go BillBrod-head, Detroit attorney: "Only thing that works for me is exercise. I go for a long smile it always makes a bad situation better. My son George (16) and I were in a car accident the other day. It was a situation where you could yell or scream, and I there, eat popcorn and forget.